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GOVT AND POLICIES

Vehicle sales decline by 3.6% in November

Auto sales in China fell for a 17th consecutive month in November, with the number of new energy vehicles (NEVs) sold contracting for a fifth month in a row, data from its biggest auto industry association showed on Tuesday. Total auto sales in the world's biggest auto market fell 3.6 percent from the same month a year earlier, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) said. That follows a drop of 4 percent in October and 5.2 percent in September. Car sales in the country contracted last year for the first time since the 1990s.

Chinese economy set to rebound next year

China's key economic barometers are likely to rebound in the first half of 2020, JPMorgan's Chief China Economist Zhu Haibin has said, advising against market pessimism. Attributing China's downward economic pressure in 2019 mainly to cyclical factors, Zhu said manufacturing and infrastructure investment will possibly start driving up the economy next year. The manufacturing sector is looking at more investment amid the estimated recovery of the producer price index that may boost profit for companies in the industry, said Zhu. The growth rate for infrastructure investment is expected to climb to between 5 and 6 percent next year as the government is purposing the issuance of special local government bonds toward financing for infrastructure, according to Zhu.

Peer-to-peer lenders losing sheen in China

The number of Chinese peer-to-peer lenders continued to fall last month, partly due to the country's ongoing efforts to crack down on riskier forms of financing. The number of P2P platforms fell to 456 at the end of November from 486 at the end of October, according to Online Lending House, a website that tracks the industry. Turnover of P2P platforms amounted to 50.62 billion yuan ($7.23 billion) last month, down over 50 percent year-on-year and down 11.23 percent month-on-month. The number of active individual lenders and borrowers dropped 9.72 percent and 13.05 percent month-on-month, respectively.

PV product exports up in first 10 months

China posed strong growth in exports of photovoltaic (PV) products in the first 10 months of this year, up 32.3 percent year-on-year. Exports of PV products amounted to $17.74 billion, surpassing the whole volume of 2018, according to the China Photovoltaic Industry Association. Total PV installations surpassed 190 gigawatts in the first three quarters, while the figure is expected to exceed 200 gigawatts by the end of this year, said Wang Bohua, secretary-general of the association. China is taking the lead in PV development globally, with an internationally competitive and complete industrial chain.

COMPANIES AND MARKETS

Automated ride-hailing test held in San Jose

Mercedes-Benz and Bosch have started a joint pilot project for an app-based automated ride-hailing service in the US city of San Jose, California, the German companies jointly announced on Monday in Stuttgart. The automated Mercedes-Benz S-Class vehicles would drive along the main traffic routes in San Jose and would be monitored by a safety driver, according to automobile manufacturer Mercedes-Benz and Bosch, Germany's largest automotive supplier. Initially, the automated shuttle service would only be available to a selected group of users who could book the vehicles via the app and then board at defined pickup locations to be driven to their destination.

US firms lead in global arms company rankings

US companies that sell arms and military services dominate the top five of global largest 100 arms companies, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said in a report. "For the first time since 2002, the top five spots in the ranking are held exclusively by arms companies based in the United States: Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon and General Dynamics," the SIPRI report said, quoting newly released data from its Arms Industry Database. "These five companies alone accounted for $148 billion and 35 percent of total top 100 arms sales in 2018," it said.

AROUND THE WORLD

Japan's fiscal 2020 budget to hit record

Japan's initial budget for fiscal 2020 is expected to hit a record high with increasing social security and defense costs, local media reported. The initial general account budget for the fiscal year 2019 ending March stood at 101.46 trillion yen ($933.4 billion), according to government officials. The budget for the next fiscal year is expected to increase as the government will earmark funds to implement free preschool education program extension as well as a rebate program for cashless purchases which is aimed at boosting consumer spending following the consumption tax hike in October.

German exports rise by 1.9% in October

German exports in October increased by 1.9 percent year-on-year while imports decreased by 0.6 percent compared to October of last year, the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) revealed on Monday. In October, Germany exported goods worth 119.5 billion euros ($132.2 billion) and imported goods for 98 billion euros, according to Destatis. Compared to the previous month, German exports were up 1.2 percent and imports remained nearly unchanged. German exports of goods to countries outside the European Union even increased by 4.6 percent.

UK economy likely to slow to 1% in 2020

British economic growth was expected to slow from 1.3 percent for this year to 1 percent in 2020, according to the latest forecast released on Monday by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC). According to BCC, weaker outlook for business investment, net trade and consumer spending was set to weigh on the economic growth prospects. "Business investment is forecast to contract by 1.0 percent in 2019 and by a further 0.7 percent in 2020," BCC said in a statement. "Uncertainty, particularly over Brexit, and the upfront costs associated with doing business in the UK, are expected to continue to weigh on investment decisions," it said.

France's GDP growth forecast unchanged

The French central bank, Banque de France (BdF), on Monday announced a 0.2-percent quarter-on-quarter GDP growth forecast in the final quarter of 2019, confirming a previous estimation on expected momentum in services businesses. In November, industrial production stabilized as a decrease in automobile sector had offset a robust growth in agri-food and aeronautical activities, the bank noted. Based on monthly surveys of entrepreneurs' opinion, the BdF projected weak industrial production in December.

Philippines' total goods trade declines by 6.7%

The Philippines' total external trade in goods in October declined by 6.7 percent, amounting to $15.89 billion from the $17.03 billion external trade in the same month of 2018, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said on Tuesday. Of the total external trade, the PSA said $6.32 billion or 39.8 percent were exported goods and $9.57 billion or 60.2 percent were imported goods.